A MEDAL FOR HEROES
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Excelsior Springs man among Rangers up for Congressional Gold Medal
INDIANAPOLIS – A Congressional Gold Medal for all World War II Army Rangers, including an Excelsior Springs resident, is gaining traction in Congress.
First Sgt. Frank Mattivi – a Darby’s Ranger and Ranger Hall of Fame inductee who died in 2018 – served among the original 500 men who comprised the 75th Ranger Regiment. He is remembered fondly by a friend, Laura Moore, Lawson, who said the medal is deserved by Mattivi and her uncle, Francis Patterson, also a World War II Ranger.
“It’s just a way to continue to honor them, get them noticed for all the incredible things they did during World War II,” Moore said.
Mattivi received a Purple Heart after being wounded by friendly fire while attacking an enemy tank at the Battle of Cisterna in central Italy, one of five campaigns in which he participated.
“Ranger Mattivi identified a German tank traversing its turret to strike a building he knew to be occupied by many Range...